Recess: The Video Game
by Callisto Endymion
Summary: TJ, Spinelli, Mikey, Gretchen, and Vince buy a bootleg Mario Kart game, and are sucked into it. They need to finish the race and win without dying to get out, which is harder than it looks. Will they make it?
1. Just Say NO To Bootlegs

RECESS: THE VIDEO GAME Chapter 1 

TJ, Spinelli, Gretchen, Mikey, and Vince were looking in the video store for the newest game.

"Damn! They're all out!" said TJ in frustration. Sure enough, Mario Kart was out.

"Aww man!" said Spinelli. "I was gonna beat ya!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"WAS NOT!"

"Hey, psst!" everybody looked around. The kid from school that always sold stuff in a trench coat was there.

"Here's a copy for $2- to keep!" he whispered.

"But- but it's a bootleg!" protested Mikey.

"So what? It's a deal, dude!" said Spinelli, and handed over the moolah. TJ took the game.

When they got to TJ's house, they put in the game, and it started up. Everybody grabbed a controller. They picked their cars, and were about to press "GO" when a bolt o lightning zapped the house. The electricity went through the cables, and touched everybody's hands.

"AHHHHHH!" they all screamed as they _were sucked into the game._


	2. Pink Punk Explanations

Recess: The Video Game

Chapter Two: Video Reality

* * *

They were in a parking lot, of sorts, with all the Mario Carts. A woman with pink spiked hair, ripped jeans, a pink tank top, and a jean jacket was there, smiling evillyat them. She had so much jewelry in her left eyebrow, ears, nose, belly button, and what was later revealed in her tounge, she could have been a lightning rod. Nintendo music played loudly.

"What the freak happened?" asked Spinelli.

"Why, you have been sucked into my bootleg, chick." Said the girl, chewing her cow-style nose ring. "Don't interrupt me, I'm gonna explain this once."

She paused.

"You have to drive, and ultimitly win the race in order to get out of the game. You CAN die, so don't feel so safe. There are, as you know, five races. The mushroom, the dessert, the forest, the moon, and the RAINBOW ROAD. That's it. Any questions?"

(AN: I don't care, I made up the Mario races)

"Are you KIDDING?" asked Spinelli.

"Nope. Pick a car." She gave an evil laugh, and simply vanished.

"Uhh…" said TJ. Everybody was equally speechless, except for…

"What are we waiting for?' asked Spinelli. "Let's get going!"

* * *

Sorry this chapter was so short, I just wanted to make sure you got the message about it being moved, and I wanted to make some progress. I need at LEAST five reviews to continue. Tell your friends!




	3. Mushroom Racetrack

Quick review, because of slow updating: the gang gets sucked up into a Nintendo Mario Kart video game, and a strange pink-haired girl told them to win the game to get out, or die. Now, we're about to see the first race: the mushroom course.

Recess: The Video Game

**3**

_In Which The Game Begins, And Rode Rage Spreads Fast_

In this game, there are twelve players. Six cars were in the parking lot, and six were already at the starting line, with players inside.

In the lead was the princess, combing her blonde hair, and smoothing her skirt, followed by King Kong, beating his chest, followed by Yoshi, bouncing up and down in his seat.

The others, who didn't make the top three, sat dejectedly in their cars: Mario, Luigi, and the guy with a mushroom head.

TJ, Spinelli, Mikey, Vince, and Gretchen each took a car.

"I don't know how to drive." Gulped Mikey.

"It's not a real car, it's built like an arcade racing one." TJ said.

"Hey, we're outnumbered!" Spinelli cried.

"Don't worry, we'll beat 'em." Said Vince, glancing nervously at King Kong.

"TAKE YOUR PLACES!" called a voice over their heads. They looked up, and saw there were speakers.

The cars moved up behind Mushroom head in this order: TJ, Vince, Spinelli, Gretchen, and Mikey.

"Uh oh- no seat belts!" Mikey said.

A ghost flew down with a traffic light.

_Weird._ Thought Spinelli.

BEEP! The top light turned red.

BEEP! The middle light turned yellow. Spinelli pressed the pedal.

BEEP! The last light turned green, and the Nintendo creatures, TJ, and Spinelli took off. The rest pressed their pedals a bit slower. Y'see, if you start the ignition on the second beep rather than the third, you go faster.

TJ sped over a question mark box. Where there would have been air conditioning controls, a box with a turtle shell in it now appeared.

TJ, who was luckily a master at arcade car racing, had barely any trouble driving.

Mikey and Gretchen, however, were not. In fact, they drove like me: smashing into every wall, missing every coin. Well, I'm good at Mario Kart- I just suck at arcade driving.

The Princess was in the lead, followed by Yoshi, followed by King Kong. Hot on the big ape's trail was TJ, and following him, Spinelli. Vince was stuck between Mario and Luigi.

Mikey was finally getting a hold of the car- barely. He was WAY behind. In desperation, he pressed his mushroom (what he won in the question mark boxes).

ZOOM! He shot ahead, and sped up to mushroom head. Then he slowed down again.

"Cool!"

TJ shot his shell at King Kong, but it missed, exploding against the wall.

"Wow, it's a whole lot deadlier here!" then Kong dropped the banana peel.

TJ and Spinelli saw it coming, but Mario didn't have a chance. He hit the peel at, like, eighty miles an hour. He spun off course, his tire ripped, and he began flying towards the wall.

With a final despairing scream, Mario hit the wall in a horrifying crunch of metal.

TJ finally got past Kong. The princess snickered and dropped a mushroom on the road.

Yoshi swerved to avoid it, but TJ was too curious to know what it was, so he ran over it- and regretted it. He began to shrink.

Suddenly, the other cars towered over him, and he began to slow down. Kong was coming on him fast- he was about to become road kill!

Suddenly, Kong stopped and began spinning in a circle. He had been hit by a green shell!

Then the time limit on the mushroom ran out, and TJ returned to normal size. Aha! There was the finish line - only one more bridge to go over.

Now the princess was in the lead, followed by Yoshi, followed by Spinelli, followed by Vince (he caught up in all the confusion), followed by Kong, then TJ, then Mikey, then Luigi, followed by- hey, where's Gretchen?

Gretchen was so far back, that she was in front of them. No protection, no idea how to work her prize box, and unaware of the other cars coming at her at eighty miles an hour.

Of course, once she DID hear, she began to drive even more insanely, backwards and sideways, scratching up her car. The Princess zoomed over the finish line completing the first lap. Then over the boxes. Then she gave an evil grin at Gretchen, and pressed her box.

Now, a banana peel will make you slip, a big mushroom will make you fast, a small mushroom will make you shrink, and a green shell will make you spin. A lightning bolt will make you invincible and fast, and a ghost will make you just plain invincible.

But a red shell is the best of all, because that will annihilate you opponent. And it has better aim.

The Princess had a red shell. And it was aimed at Gretchen.

* * *

Gretchen watched as, almost in slow motion, as the red shell sped towards her.

She knew enough about Mario Kart to know what it meant.

The last thing she thought before impact was, _"I hate turtles."_

* * *

"GRETCHEN!" Mikey cried, as the red shell crashed into Gretchen's car, smashing it against the wall. The sound of tearing metal from the car almost drowned out the Nintendo music blasting above them. Then it burst into flames.

Everybody zoomed over the finish line; the end of lap one.

"Only two laps left!" called Spinelli. She shot her green turtle shell at the princess, hate burning in her eyes.

Luigi smashed into Mikey, who had slowed down in shock.

"We have to keep going, Mikey! Or we'll end up like Gretchen!" Vince cried to Mikey.

The green shell missed, but bounced around the walls ahead of them.

The next lap passed in a blur of everyone trying to hit the princess. TJ got her with a green shell, slowing her down enough for him to get ahead, but that's all it did.

TJ led the pack, next came the princess, followed by Yoshi, followed by Spinelli, King Kong at her heels- er, wheels.

Next came Vince, then Mikey, then Luigi and the mushroom guy.

Luigi hit an oil puddle during a turn, spinning off course.

Vince got a lightning bolt when he hit the boxes. He pressed it, and immediately sped ahead, bumping into everyone, but not getting hurt. He made it behind the princess before it wore off.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.

The finish line was nearing – the end of lap three.

TJ was in first place, followed by the princess and Spinelli, neck to neck. Vince shot a green shell at King Kong, who dropped a banana in front of him, resulting in both of them spinning while Mikey slipped ahead, and mushroom guy caught up.

Of course, Mikey was still a pretty bad driver, and fell behind again fairly quickly.

Suddenly, the princess hit Spinelli with a green shell. Because it was so close, it totally knocked off her front right wheel!

Spinelli was thrown from her car onto the track.

King Kong's car was coming up – he was going to run her over! She opened her mouth to scream…

WHAM! Vince hit Kong with a green shell. He drove up to Spinelli.

"Hop on!" he cried.

Spinelli wasted no time.

* * *

Finally, they all crossed the finish line.

TJ got first place, followed by the Princess for second place, followed by Yoshi for third. After them came Vince and Spinelli in fourth, followed by Kong in fifth, followed by Mikey in sixth place, with Luigi and Mushroom head in tow.

Wearily, everybody got out of his or her cars.

"Hey TJ, you got first!" Mikey shouted.

"THIS time perhaps – but I'll get you in the desert!" screamed the Princess, eyes flashing with rage. Then she stormed inside a building to the right of the track. Yoshi, Kong, Mushroom head, and Luigi followed her.

Mikey looked at the wreck of Gretchen's car; a little ways past the finish line.

"Poor Gretchen." Mikey said.

"It's only a game- she probably just went home." TJ said, patting Mikey on the back.

"That chick said we really die, though." Vince said morbidly.

"She was lying. How could we die here? It's a video game. There must be SOME way to get her back." TJ said hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe by winning, everything goes back to normal!" Spinelli exclaimed.

"Well, whatever happens next, it appears we have to go into that building." Said Mikey, pointing to the place the other racers had gone into.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going and save Gretchen!" Spinelli said.

They walked into the building.

**

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**

Woo-hoo! Another chapter done! Review, people! Lest I never update.

"_Hold your ground, hold your ground. Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!"  
_-Aragorn, **Lord of the Rings**


	4. Afterlife In The Game

Recess: The Video Game

**Chapter Four: Nowhere Restaurant**

TJ, Spinelli, Mikey, and Vince walked into the building and looked around.

It looked like your standard bar; the kind you'd see in the Twilight Zone or something.

It had a bunch of tables in the middle, uselessly spinning fans on the ceiling, and a bartender washing a bar. All of the other riders - Princess, Yoshi, King Kong, Luigi, and Toad. There were also people they didn't recognize next to the players, people they hadn't seen on the racetrack.

A sign by the door said "Seat Yourself," so they did. The picked a table in the corner, away from the other riders.

They sat in silence, covered in driving dirt, remembering their fallen comrade.

"Ah... you must be they new players." said a voice from the table next to them. They looked.

A man was sitting a the table, a man in a wide-brimmed hat that covered his eyes and a long trench coat. They were sure he hadn't been there before.

"Who are you?" asked TJ.

"My name is Harold Balthazar." he said. They waited for a further explanation, but they were disappointed. Instead he gave them a toothy smile.

"Usually we only get one at a time; very rarely we get two. And now here you are - four."

"We used to have five." said Vince sorrowfully.

"What do you mean, 'others?'" asked Spinelli suspiciously.

"I mean the other kids that Janette has snared." replied Harold.

"Janette?" repeated Mikey.

"The girl who brought you here. The pink one." Harold answered.

"Wait, wait, back up. There have been _others?_" asked TJ.

Harold sighed. "Yes. Of course. After all, players' souls are what keeps this game alive. With out new players constantly being provided, this place would die." He sighed, and the Recess gang was silent for a few seconds while Harold's words sank in.

"Did you say _players' souls?_" whispered Spinelli.

"Yes. When players die their souls are added to the game for more energy. The more souls, the better the game. Sometimes you can see their faces in the scenery." he sounded sad.

"I was a player once. When I found out about this, I tried to cheat so I would have better chances. I slit the Princess's tires. But if you cheat in the game, you become enslaved. The bartender is a cheater too. All the actors in this gruesome player are cheaters."

Harold stood up. "Well, I better get going. It's my job to clean up the racetrack after a game." his words were heavy and sad. "Good luck, players." he walked away, leaving a stunned and silent foursome.

"Well-" started Vince, but he was cut off by another, more unpleasant voice.

"Well, if it isn't the new players." said Princess. The gang glared up at her, hatred evident on their faces.

"You should really eat something to bring up your strength for the next race. You'll need it." she said, and walked away to her table. She was sitting next to another princessy-looking girl with brown hair at the same table with Yoshi and Kong - plus they're own sort-of look-alikes.

"Who are those people?" Mikey wondered aloud.

"I dunno, but I'm going to find out." said TJ, and walked up to the bartender. The other waited and watch TJ talk to the bartender for a while before coming back.

"He says that they're sort of the riders' servants and seconds." replied TJ.

"Seconds?" asked Mikey.

"It means that if the riders get sick or something, their servants will drive instead." informed Vince. "I looked it up when I read _Harry Potter_."

"Hey, I've seen them before!" cried Spinelli suddenly. "They're in the new Nintendo version. I only know the Princess's helper - Peach. I forget all the others' names."

"I never got the new one. I always played the old ones." TJ said.

Suddenly, a whistle blew inside the bar, and the bartender souted, "Next ride!"

All the riders got up and began to move towards the door. The gang followed.

TJ grasped Spinelli's hand. "Good luck," he said.

They followed the other players out into blinding light.

**

* * *

**

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

Please review! I'm going to make faster updates from now on, I promise! (sweatdrop) I'm really sorry about the slowness. And I'll make an exciting chapter for the next race soon! And I'll probably be a better writer since I've grown up :) _

* * *

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. -**Joseph Romm, Washington** _- 

_"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,  
but by the moments that take our breath away."_


	5. Tears In The Darkness

Yes… it's another update! And I finally got me own Nintendo, so I have more experience now. Please review guys; one review per chapter isn't much motivation. I hope this chapter's ok, advice is gratefully accepted; blatant flaming while supposedly apologizing is not. It is possible to be polite and kind while criticizing, you know.

Without further ado… CHAPTER – ERR – (checks notes) FIVE!

* * *

Recess: The Video Game

**5**

_Tears In The Darkness_

* * *

The Recess gang shielded their eyes from the sun. When their eyes had adjusted, they looked around in surprise and wonder. 

The scenery had changed. Instead of the Mushroom Race Track, a great desert-y landscape lay before them. The cars were lined up in front on a road through the dry dirt. The road led between two canyon walls. They could hear fierce winds blowing down there. No one spoke.

The other riders were getting into their cars. Their seconds came with them, hopping on the back.

TJ looked to his dejected group and narrowed his eyes, wondering if he should or could make a cheerful speech to rally their spirits.

"Alright," he said, trying to appear tough, "we're going out there. And I don't know about you, but I'm not becoming scenery! I'm going to win and avenge Gretchen's death. Who's with me?"

"I am!" shouted Spinelli. Vince nodded gravely, and Mikey gave a sad sigh.

"I miss Gretchen." He said. TJ sighed as well.

"Well there's nothing we can do about it. Maybe if we win, that woman – what was her name?"

"Janette." Vince said.

"Right. Maybe she'll give her back. And I _know_ we can win, because we're all really good at Mario Kart." TJ said, impressed with his own speech.

"Alright, TJ, we get the point. Yay team." Spinelli said, not as impressed as TJ. "Now let's go!" she looked around for a car.

"Hey wait a minute. How come _we_ don't get seconds?" asked Mikey.

"Because there's no one left!" shouted Toad. Donkey Kong growled at him, and Toad became silent.

"We're left!" cried Spinelli. "And we're even. TJ, I'm your second! Vince can take Mikey. They didn't give me another car anyway."

"No." said TJ. "Mikey and Vince still have their cars, so they should keep apart. The more separated we are, the less people will be lost in an accident."

Silence met his words. Then a whistle sounded – the race was about to begin!

They hurriedly got in their cars and Spinelli perched in the sort-of backseat of TJ car.

BEEP. Red light.

BEEP. Yellow light.

TJ tensed.

BEEEEEEP! Green light.

24 tires squealed as the riders sped off. The Princess scraped TJ's car as she sped off, laughing maniacally.

They sped through the canyon, and saw what was inside the walls.

The ground was sloping inwards, the sand pouring into a giant sinkhole. TJ didn't want to know what would happen if anyone fell in.

The wind was immense, spraying sand into everyone's face, screaming so lud you couldn't hear anything else, and it didn't help with steering away from the pit.

On either side of the pit, in the middle of the road, floated boxes. These were the weapon/prize boxes, upgraded just like the riders were with their seconds. Vince and Mikey hit the boxes, but TJ and Spinelli missed, roaring between them. Spinelli cursed.

Vince watched his dashboard. After a bit of jingling, he saw a banana appear there. He threw it out the back.

Unfortunately, he was so distracted by doing this that he didn't notice the glowing Luigi coming up behind him, music playing loudly from his car, until the demented Italian had rammed him with all of his magic star/lightening bolt/invincibility might. Vince spinned wildly around in a circle for a few minutes, then stopped. He only paused a second before he began to drive again.

"Damn!" he shouted over the roaring wind, staring at his dashboard. It announced he was in sixth place.

His dashboard had a weapon box, a thing that told him his place in the race, and a map that showed where everyone was. He quickly sped up, but it was hard in the sand – he had been spun off the road.

Mikey had gotten a speed mushroom (yeah, I know, haha). He sped easily along the side of the pit canyon and out onto the open road. He looked at his map.

The Princess was first, followed by Kong, followed by TJ and Spinelli, followed by Yoshi, followed by Luigi, followed by Vince, followed by Toad, followed by himself. He was last. Fudge.

He sped up, quickly overtaking Toad on the long, bare road. The wind had stopped blowing, but the air was smoky and dirty from the road dust being kicked up by the riders. Everyone had driven out of the pit.

TJ drove out into the open air, feeling relieved. He didn't like the pit canyon one bit.

He saw another row of boxes right before a turn. He drove through them, and a wonderful thing appeared on the dashboard. A red shell.

Spinelli grabbed it and glared at Kong, who was ahead of them, but barely.

"EAT THIS!" she shouted, throwing it at him. His car flew off the road, spinning madly in circles, and all the other cars rushed by him. His second flew off into the distance. TJ and Spinelli were now in second, and gaining on the Princess.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightening hit all the riders except for Toad. They shrank and slowed down.

"Oh no. Not the shrinking mushroom!" Peach (the Princess' second) cried out daintily.

Toad began to gain on the other riders, squashing Yoshi in the process. Yoshi didn't get up. Mikey realized just how dangerous this game was. Here, there might not always be a friendly ghost to save you when you fell, and you wouldn't pop back up after being squished. He tried not to barf when he passed Yoshi the Roadkill. His blood was green.

Then everyone grew back to his or her regular size. TJ and Spinelli were neck-and-neck with the Princess and Peach. Vince was close on their heels, being pursued by Toad. Mikey was, thankfully, not last. Luigi was a ways behind him, slow as ever. He assumed Kong was too.

Suddenly, Toad threw a green shell at Vince. It hit Vince's fender and he spun wildly.

_Man do I hate spinning!_ He thought woozily as he stopped. He immediately began driving again, although now he was next to Mikey.

TJ and the Princess kept ramming each other from the side, threatening to knock Spinelli and Peach from their perches. They called out indignantly, but their drivers did not hear. Princess and TJ could only see the road and themselves.

They made a turn, hitting some weapon boxes. Spinelli prayed for a red shell. They got a mushroom. Was it speed or size, though?

She hit it. They zoomed forward, and she almost fell. She whooped with glee as they passed the Princess.

Then they saw the ledge.

"Uh-oh," TJ said, as they flew off of it and began hurtling downward to another road below…

Mikey and Vince stayed together. When their weapon boxes finally stopped, they both had green shells.

"Aw man!" Mikey groaned.

"No, wait! If we both throw at the same target… it could do some real damage." Vince shouted.

"Do you know how hard it is to aim and drive?"

"No. But I'm about to find out." He picked up his green shell and Mikey did the same. They both hurled them at Toad. They might've hit, had not Toad fallen off the edge of the earth at that moment.

"What the-" but Vince was cut off as he too plunged off the edge.

Spinelli was thrown from her seat and only barely hung on to TJ's seat in front of her. Her legs flailed in the breeze behind her.

"Hold on!" TJ shouted way too late.

"You jerk!" she screamed. "Next time _I _drive!"

They slammed down, and Spinelli fell back into her seat. They didn't stop for a second.

They drove around the corner and across the finish line.

"Jesus, it's only been one lap," Spinelli said, stunned by the fall still.

They were first, Princess was second, Toad was third, Vince was fourth, Mikey was fifth, Kong was sixth, and Luigi was seventh.

The cars sped into the pit canyon and hit the weapon boxes. Luigi had caught up and was trying to pass Mikey. Mikey quickly threw his red shell. It hit, resulting in a fantastic explosion because it had been at such close quarters. Luigi screamed as his car rolled over and over down the sandy slope, finally falling into the pit, his screams instantly silenced by the pouring sand.

Mikey stared in disbelief. He had killed someone! He had never done something so horrible in his life. He tried to tell himself that Luigi was fake, not to mention an enemy, and that it didn't count. But he didn't really believe it. He fell into seventh place, but he didn't care anymore. What had he done?

Vince looked around for Mikey, but couldn't see him through the tearing wind and other riders. Someone threw a green shell at him and he dodged. His weapon box showed an invincibility star/lightening bolt. He pressed it, and began to glow and emit loud music.

TJ and Spinelli were still in first, but the Princess was just behind them, practically foaming at the mouth with road rage. She stared from her back seat, making sure the Princess didn't throw something at the.

"HOLD ON!" shouted TJ, and Spinelli turned. Banana peel!

They hit it and spun madly, as the cackling Princess sped past them, soon followed by Kong, who had managed to catch up, and Toad. As soon as they stopped wobbling TJ hit the gas again. He noticed Vince next to him.

"Hey! I see you got spinned. Sucks, doesn't it?"

TJ focused on the road. "Yeah. Now I'm in fourth place. Dang."

They sped down the road, avoiding obstacles and hitting the prize boxes and came to the ledge.

"HOLD ON!" TJ shouted as they once again fell off. Spinelli was once again ripped form her seat, barely hanging on. She felt better when she saw that all the other seconds were doing the same.

"I am SO getting my own car next time," she grumbled.

After they hit, TJ began gaining on the others again. He came up behind the Princess just as they crossed the finish line. The final lap.

Princess. TJ. Kong. Vince. Toad. Mikey. There were now only six riders.

Mikey was so far behind now, that he was in front, chugging along through the sand in the pit canyon. The Princess smiled and winked back at TJ.

"Your friend in slow. Should I give him a push you think?" she shouted over the skin-stripping wind. She laughed and TJ frantically searched the weapon box. All they had was a banana. Spinelli threw it, but missed the Princess as she rammed Mikey's car, sending him rolling towards the pit.

"MIKEY!" Spinelli screamed. Mikey seemed stunned. He always was a gentle spirit, and she realized that the place must have been getting to him. Or was it just Gretchen?

He didn't try to steer away. Instead, he threw a red shell at the Princess.

TJ, Spinelli, and Vince watched, as if in slow motion. Time slowed and noise vanished. The grains of sand in the wind stood still.

The shell soared through the air, exploding against the Princess' car as Mikey teetered on the edge of the pit. The Princess's shock and hatred on her face, as Mikey fell in after Luigi. Peach crying out and abandoning ship as the pink car exploded in a burst of flame.

Then time and noise came back and they sped out of the pit, hitting weapon boxes on the way.

"MIKEY!" screamed Spinelli, staring back at the pit. Vince's face was frozen in shock, staring straight ahead, disbelieving. TJ hunched over the wheel in a pose that would make a chiropractor cringe. He fixed his cap on his head, making sure it was backwards and gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

They drove down the dirt highway, silently, all noise seeming to vanish once again. They fell off the ledge and drove for the finish line. TJ in first, Vince in second, Kong in third, Toad in fourth, and Peach, stumbling after them in a burned and filthy gown, in fifth.

They stopped in front of the building that was a weird old-fashioned bar run by enslaved cheaters.

They got out of the cars and all the riders walked towards the restaurant again. They were all silent, as if the other riders felt loss as well. Maybe they would miss Princess, Luigi, and Yoshi.

The solemn trio collapsed into a booth. Spinelli was crying silently, making clear tear lines across her blacked and dirty face. Her hair stood up in all directions, falling out of their ties. Vince was still blank-faced. He was just as filthy, if not more. His eyes looked a little off, like he'd been spun too many times, and TJ remembered his earlier speech. He did not cry though. He knew that someone had to keep control. Vince and Spinelli were losing it.

"So, who do you think is next?" Vince said softly, looking at the tabletop.

"What?" TJ asked, just as soft.

"There are five races. There used to be five of us. It's obvious, isn't it? Each one of us dies each race. You're the leader, so the next person to die will be me or Spinelli."

"Don't say that!" TJ said. He would've shouted if he had the energy.

"We-"

He was interrupted by someone coming over to their table. It was Peach. They stared up at her – Vince blankly, but Spinelli and TJ with hatred.

"I'm sorry," she said in her cutesy but soft voice, before they could say anything. "I just wanted to tell you that I've always hated the Princess and I'm sorry for your loss." With that, she walked away to her own table and sat alone.

"Well." Spinelli said, but couldn't think of a response. Then a waiter came over with Coca-colas and wonderful-smelling stew.

"You'll be spending the night here and then race tomorrow," the waiter said with a Scottish accent, "so when you're ready to retire, tell me and I'll take you to your rooms." Then he left.

Spinelli tasted the stew cautiously. "Well, it tastes wonderful. At least they won't starve us." She dug in.

"I'm not hungry." Vince said softly.

"Yes you are. You got to keep your strength up. It looks like your going to fall apart!" TJ exclaimed. Vince did not argue, he merely began to eat his stew while he stewed.

The waiter showed them where the shower and their rooms were. After washing, they all went to bed, exhausted both physically and mentally.

TJ gripped his blanket hard in the darkness, thinking about Mikey and Gretchen. He would win. He would get them back. And then he would kill Janette.

"_So, who do you think is next?"_

TJ blocked the thought from his head. Everything could wait until the morning.

What had the lady said the next race was? Right. The "Forest." Well, he would be prepared. And he would win.

He repeated this over and over until he fell asleep.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER FIVE**

Well? What did you think? Does anyone know the names of the other seconds? And should I bring Gus into this? Should I give up this story entirely?

* * *

_"Yet in this, as in so many other things, fairies rarely give much thought to the consequences of their actions. They procreate or steal other people's children, and twenty years later they are amazed to discover that they have a house full of grown men and women."_

-**The Ladies of Grace Adieu**


End file.
